South DeKalb Neighbors to host panel discussion calling for urgent intervention amid gas station murder, assaults, blight

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—Spurred by the recent series of assaults, the murder of a man at a service station and blight plaguing Columbia Drive, a collective of neighborhood groups in unincorporated South DeKalb will hold a community meeting on Saturday, Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the community room at The Friends School of Atlanta, 862 Columbia Drive, Decatur.

The group, South DeKalb Neighbors, is calling for violence interventions, an evolution of public safety approaches, and the revitalization of unincorporated South DeKalb — with immediate action steps and more accountability from county agencies and elected officials.

The meeting will take the form of a panel discussion with local experts, as the communities seek both short-term solutions and a longer-range plan for engaging citizens to help transform the Columbia Drive corridor and provide a roadmap for other neighborhoods.

“The well-being of our community affects us all, so we are calling on our community and all stakeholders to roll up their sleeves and help. It is really going to takeall of us to make our area better, for that little girl who was harassed at the service station

and everybody else. Chaos feeds on chaos, so we need to address this spiral of blight

and violence before it’s too late,” said Marvin Toliver, a Spring Valley resident.

With southern DeKalb’s Board of Commissioners’ District 3 and District 7 seats standing

vacant for the better part of a year and the November 5th election looming, community

members say it is a critical time to put their short- and longer-term priorities in front of

staff, current administration officials, as well as candidates for office, and to get pledges

for support and follow through.

“Our focus is to chart a new path forward by increasing

stakeholder engagement, strengthening relationships with agencies responsible for

providing a secure environment, and developing mutually agreeable recommendations

leading to viable solutions for a more secure community,” said longtime Columbia Valley

resident and advocate Claudette Leak.

The conversation will be moderated by journalist and documentary filmmaker King

Williams with featured panelists Claudette Leak, resident of

Columbia Valley; DeKalb Precinct Commander Major Brian DeLoach ; Deputy Director for

Code Administration Timothy Hardy; and GSU Criminal Justice and Criminology professor

Volkan Topalli . Special guest DeKalb CEO-Elect Lorraine Cochran Johnson will also attend.

After the panel discussion, there will be a 30-minute Q&A session, so community

members can speak directly with panelists.

“We are hoping that people will come to the conversation with more curiosity and questions than answers – and that they will speak with each other and not at each other,” said Georgi Page-Smith, one of the event’s organizers. “The best insights and solutions always seem to come when diverse voices find a way to stay in dialogue and keep the big picture in mind.”

For more information, e-mail:  info@SouthDeKalbNeighbors.com.